


Windows to the Soul

by orphan_account



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Blood and Violence, KaiXing, M/M, Magic, Wizards, such a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 00:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11956320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Someone is killing his kingdom's dragons, and Prince Yixing feels powerless to stop them.





	Windows to the Soul

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #79, I think? 
> 
> Thank you to the mods for running this fest and thank you to the prompter for this prompt, although I'm pretty sure I've forgotten parts of it. Hope this is at least a little what you were hoping for.

_It's Yixing's fault._

That's all he can think when the golden arrow pierces Tao’s flank, his dragon veering off-course, falling out of the sky with a wail. 

It's a miracle, incredible strength on the dragon's part, that the creature lands them in a clearing, grazing a cluster of trees, snapping branches and shaking leaves.

"No, no, _no_." He’s dismounting in seconds, hurrying to the dragon's side where the arrow is lodged, blood marring black scales. 

It’s in so deep, so close to Tao's heart, Yixing immediately fears pulling it out, causing more damage, more blood. "Tao, I am so sorry."

They're too far from the castle for Yixing to get help. He curses inwardly, coming to face Tao, who stares at his bonded through panicked, pained eyes. 

He'd been warned not to go out so far, to wild territory only inhabited by thieves and outlaws, had heard about the slew of mysterious dragon attacks, and still, he hadn't listened. And now Tao might die because of it. 

He wracks his brain, desperate, running a hand over Tao's snout, wanting to soothe the panicked creature, as he tries to figure out something. _Anything_.

"Everything's going to be alright," he whispers, pressing his forehead against Tao's, even as tears cloud his own vision. "I promise."

The dragon is in severe pain, tremors shaking its body which is losing a dangerous amount of blood. 

_This is all Yixing's fault._

"Nasty cut, isn't it?" 

The deep voice startles them both, Yixing whipping around toward its source and Tao jerking with a pained grunt. 

He puts a reassuring hand on the dragon's snout even as his own heartbeat picks up out of fear and foreboding at the sight of a young man walking toward them, satchel heavy in hand.

"Halt! Who are you?"

"Who am I? Well, that depends on the time and place, really. At this time, in this place, I just happen to be the prince's handsome and heroic savior," the young man smirks, stopping directly in front of prince and dragon with an exaggerated bow.

"But you can call me Kai."

 

#

 

_Wizard._

Yixing realizes with growing dread that's who— that's _what_  — Kai is as he watches the other man peer at Tao's injury. The dragon is weary of a stranger's presence, and Yixing murmurs words of comfort, watching Kai's every move.

He knows wizards aren't to be trusted. Although he's never met one, he's heard the stories. He knows that wizards have been banned from entering the castle walls for practicing their dangerous magic.

Kai reaches out a hand, fingers aimed at the arrow, and Yixing acts fast, grabbing his wrist. 

"Don't touch him!"

The wizard grins, seemingly amused at Yixing's outburst.

"Not touching would make getting the enchanted arrow out of him a lot harder, Your Highness."

Yixing startles at the title — this wizard knows who he is. 

"How do I know you weren't the one who let it fly? How do I know I can trust you?"

Kai's skin tingles under the tips of his fingers. 

Another grin, more amusement that sets Yixing on edge.

"You can't."

Kai raises his other hand, palm glowing faintly, and Yixing watches as the blood dripping from Tao's scales disappears.

"The cut is deep. I need both palms to get the arrow out and heal the wound. But don't fret, Your Highness, we can hold hands later."

Yixing drops Kai's wrist in a flash, and the wizard has the gall to chuckle even as he focuses his attention on the injury.

 _He shouldn't be allowing this_ , Yixing thinks, one hand coming up to brush along Tao's neck as the dragon squirms under Kai's touch, the other instinctively reaching for his sword, tucked away at his hip. _If this wizard tries anything, he won’t hesitate._

Kai lifts both palms and Yixing feels the air around them reverberate, as if full, charged with energy.

It's frightening and awe-inspiring and he swears he sees the skin of Kai's palms glow before he grasps the arrow. The dragon bucks under the touch, and Yixing rushes forward, terrified, but the arrow disintegrates in seconds, Kai running a hand over the wound and stepping back, arms coming to his sides empty, normal.

When Yixing peers closer, he can't help but gasp.

Tao's flank is completely healed, gash gone like it never was. The dragon is still weak, but it’s wings ruffle in relief, body sagging as the adrenaline seeps out of him.

From behind him he hears Kai hums disapprovingly and turns to find the wizard with gaze fixed on the hand still curled around his sword. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spots rustling trees and then a pair of men materializing out of the forest.

Before he can think to speak, to move, to do anything, Kai’s hands are glowing again, and the sword is flying out of Yixing’s hand, flying at him until it’s got him pressed against Tao’s side, digging into the flesh of his throat. 

“Saving’s all done. Now how about a proper thank you, Your Highness?”

 

#

 

"This was a trick. A trap," Yixing grits out, steely edge of the sword cold against his skin. Behind him Tao whines but doesn't move, drained.

"You sent the arrow on purpose."

"We do not harm dragons."

It's one of the other men who speaks, tall and gangly, deep voice carrying an edge of irritation.

“But we make no such promises for royalty,” Kai finishes for him, spiting the last word out like poison as he comes to stand directly in front of Yixing, hand on the blade at his neck.

A glance passes between them, Yixing watches as Kai’s smug grin turns angry, like his eyes in the midday sun, and he thinks, fleetingly, that it’s as if the wizard isn’t seeing him.

But his attention is called away as more men come out of the forest, all carrying the same satchel Kai had on his back. It’s mere seconds before they have dragon and prince surrounded. That's when Kai speaks again.

“Take us to the King.”

 

#

 

A fair trade, the wizard calls it.

The alarming number of dragon slayings, Kai knows how to track the wizards responsible, how to fight their magic with his, just like he did with Tao. The arrows used in the crimes are enchanted, able to fly great distances and navigate curves and turns, cursed not to stop until they pierce dragon flesh. But there are spells, shields that can be raised to slow them down, and Kai knows them all. 

In exchange for this work, for this knowledge, Kai wants permission for him and his group to enter the castle walls as they please.

Yixing is surprised, loathe to admit almost in awe, at the ease and confidence with which Kai speaks to the King, something his own son has never been capable of.

It's with shame that he enters the throne room, sword at his back, and he cannot meet his father’s eyes as Kai makes his proposition.

And perhaps it's his son proving his weakness again, or the wizard’s confidence, or a growing desperation to stop the attacks — Yixing'd heard from Yifan that several more dragons, this time from the royal guard, had been killed in a surprise attack just that afternoon — perhaps it's all of these things that cause his father to agree.

It’s only when His Majesty grants Kai and his men lodging and provisions for their journey with a royal guardsman, that the blade at Yixing’s back is removed, held there by a severe-looking man from Kai's group, tall and broad-shouldered.

The King sweeps out of the throne room without a glance in his son’s direction, and Yixing stumbles as he’s freed, pushed away.

It’s Kai’s hand that steadies him, and the touch lingers uncomfortably after it’s gone.

 

#

 

“Well, you’ve done it now.”

Yifan’s voice carries its usual teasing, the general not bothering to hide his sarcasm around his best friend.

“I have not done _it_. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bringing a group of wizards into the castle for the first time in fifteen years and involving the heir to the throne and one of the army's highest ranking generals in a dangerous journey— you’ve done more than _it_.”

Yifan chuckles at the weak jab Yixing sends to his ribs, stepping off the garden path to avoid a subsequent kick to the shins.

“We will go with him.”

It’s supposed to be a question, but Yifan doesn’t phrase it like one, and Yixing represses the urge to scoff at the fact that he hadn’t bothered to clarify which _we_ , which _him_.

“It would hardly be proper,” he answers, unable to meet the general’s eye. “I am the prince; you have your duties.”

Yifan makes sure _his_ scoff is clearly heard over the sudden commotion in the courtyard.

“There's your valiant savior now.”

He turns to leave with a playful tug at Yixing’s ear. “I’ll see to it that our provisions are ready for travel as soon as possible.”

Yixing scowls at Yifan’s retreating back before his attention is once again drawn by another noise.

He finds Kai in the courtyard, bow and arrow in hand, standing in front of the dragon enclave. Inside, Lu Han, the King’s dragon, rests peacefully. A broken arrow lies near the enclave entrance.

Yixing’s barely taken two hesitant steps in the wizard’s direction when he freezes, blood running cold in his veins at the sight of Kai aiming the loaded bow at the sleeping dragon.

 

#

 

His horrified yell is cut off by a loud crack— a piercing sound that echoes around them.

He watches the arrow hit something, as if an invisible barrier, just at the enclave entrance. The impact causes ripples, yellow waves that flow across the barrier from the point of contact, and the arrow floats a moment in mid-air before splintering, disintegrating like ash as it falls.

“I didn’t ask for an audience, Your Highness.”

“How did you achieve such a thing?” Yixing ignores the comment and steps forward, hand coming up to touch the clear barrier but coming up against nothing but air.

“A protection spell against the arrows, if you must know. Powerful — too powerful and, thus, temporary.”

Lu Han's startled awake by the sound of the splitting arrow, and Yixing steps into the enclave, hand stroking the dragon's snout. 

“Lu Han is my father’s dragon, the strongest in the royal fleet. In the whole kingdom, perhaps.”

“A worthy creature for an unworthy man.”

Yixing turns on Kai, anger sudden and hot, mirrored in the wizard’s eyes and blinding him to the shortened distance between them.

“You dare speak that way of your king?”

“He is no king of mine. Hasn’t been our king since these very castle gates shut behind the last wizard family banished from their homes fifteen years ago.”

“He did what he thought right! All to keep his people safe from dark magic. You know nothing of the pain and loss-” The words cut off, too much all of a sudden.

“He is a wise leader, protector of his kingdom," Yixing tries to reason.

“I’ve heard many stories of Your Highness and the King,” The anger is gone, replaced by dark amusement as Kai pauses, “I wonder if _His Majesty_ would speak so highly of his one and only son?”

The comment— what Kai says, what he _means_  — feels like a physical blow, sending Yixing stumbling back. Shame and a traitorous sadness boil with the anger in his chest, pushing him to act before he can think, before he can fully process himself grabbing the loaded bow held loosely in Kai’s grasp and aiming it at his chest.  

To his credit, the wizard doesn’t flinch, although Yixing notes triumphantly the flicker of surprise before it’s pushed away by that obnoxious amusement.

“Careful, Your Highness, don’t hurt those pretty hands of yours.”

Yixing aims for the collar of Kai’s tunic, where the material is loose, bunched at the neck, calculating the trajectory. When the arrow flies, it cuts right into the fabric, a hair’s breath away from Kai’s neck. The force of the shot sends the wizard backwards, the arrowhead pinning the fabric to the wooden beam at the enclave’s entrance.

Yixing steps forward, hand on the arrow to push it deeper, effectively pinning the wizard to the board.

_“You do not know my father, and you do not know me.”_

“Clearly not.” Kai’s eyes find his, so close. “But, I think I w-”

“Shame to break up what looks like the worst archery lesson this castle’s ever seen,” Yifan’s voice rings loud across the courtyard, startling them both.

He’s standing at the entrance of the main hall, a few of Kia’s men behind him, “But report’s come of another slew of dragons killed two villages over. The court fears whoever’s aiming these shots is getting closer and closer to the castle, and the King commands us to make haste.”

Yixing steps back immediately, refusing to spare Kai a glance as he follows Yifan in the direction of the main hall, pushing his thoughts away from courtyard, away from the light in Kai's eyes.

 

#

 

“Kyungsoo and Joonmyun are staying behind, to watch over the royal dragons. They’re wizards from Kai’s tribe, healers, I think. You and I will travel with the rest to Exdoro.”

“The wizard city? Will it be safe for the likes of us?”

Yifan nods, securing the knot on his satchel. “They will not harm us. Believe me, there will be more danger for us in the forest then inside any city walls.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I can’t be. That is why I urge you to bring this.” The general brandishes Yixing’s favorite bow and arrow set, handing it to the prince.

“We will travel to Exdoro, reload our supplies, and from there set out beyond the border to the Be-Sang fault. The band of wizards we are seeking are hiding somewhere along its range.”

“You know of them?”

“From what the army's heard travelers report and what we’ve guessed of the arrows on our own, the Chief General and I have had our suspicions for some time. That is why he is letting me go, though he is worried.”

Yixing nods and doesn’t bother wondering if his father is as worried about letting his son go as Yifan’s seems to be.

“But I expect our party to cooperate with us — their people having been losing dragons too. Besides, only Sehun and Kai are full wizards, Chanyeol and Baekhyun are familiars.”

“Familiars? Half magic, half human?”

“Precisely, familiars bond with full wizards, their own powers are not nearly as strong, sometimes even nonexistant.”

“How do you know so much about them already?” Yixing grumbles, tugging his satchel over his shoulder, new bow and arrow set slung over the other.

“I am a royal general, it is my duty to know the enemy.”

“You believe these men to be our enemies?” Yixing pauses, interest piqued.

“I believe His Majesty believes so.”

“But you think he is wrong?” Yixing presses. But his friend doesn’t speak, the moment going long between them.

“You know what I think, Yixing-ah,” Yifan finally says quietly. “But it’s what you think that matters, that will matter. Can you answer your own question?”

It is Yixing’s turn to be silent, and he only speaks after a pause. When Kai’s earlier words echo in his head and the answer he knows to be right won’t come.

“No, I cannot.” 

 

#

 

Yifan turns out to be right.

The thought that Yixing hates it when Yifan is right is the last he has before the band of men descend on them. Somewhere in the middle of the forest, several hours into their journey, just after the sun’s set. How wonderful.

It’s chaos from the start, din disturbing nature's quiet as the two parties clash.

At first it doesn’t look to Yixing like the party of bandits is armed, until one of the larger men overpowers him, tree bark at his back and the steel of a blade at his neck. He sees the metallic flash caught by moonlight, feels it slice against his skin, before the man in front of him is flung backwards, landing with a pained thud a few feet away.

Kai, hands still glowing a faint yellow, reaches for him, pushing him out of the path of the large bandit barreling toward them again.

Yixing gets his bearings and reaches for his bow and arrow, has just enough time to load his weapon when he glances up to find Kai with a knife to his throat, palms bleeding and useless at his sides.

Yixing doesn’t think twice, just sends an arrow flying, but the weapon hits its target and the bandit cries in pain, dropping the dagger from now-bloody fingers, the middle one severed clean off. The blood seems to startle the others who take the sudden lull in the chaos to retreat rapidly, branches snapping in their wake.

_God, Yixing hates it when Yifan is right._

 

#

 

Sehun, Chanyeol, and Yifan disappear into the forest — the wizard and familiar casting a protective charm around their encampment, the general keeping watch.

Yixing sets to tending Kai’s wound, after calming a frantic Baekhyun, who announces his intent to mend the gashes but frets so much over the sight of Kais’ blood, he bursts into tears.

Kai tries to wave him off, making to bandage his own hands, but Yixing wants none of it, kicking at his feet to get him to sit backwards on a log. He reaches for his canteen, cleaning the wounds with water before tearing into the cloth of one of his tunics.

“So,” he starts, warm under Kai’s gaze, “judging by the gaping wounds on your hands, I take it you're not a healer?”

But even as he speaks, Yixing notices how the skin around the wounds is hardening, slowly attempting to scab over, though not quite managing it.

He glances up in time to see the corners of Kai’s mouth twitch, those dark eyes trained on his.

“No, I am not.”

“What are you then?”

“What would you like me to be, Your Highness?”

There’s a playful smirk on Kai’s face that does not go at all with the life-threatening injury he’s currently sporting.

“How about quiet?”

Yixing feels Kai’s answering laughter through his fingertips.

“I wasn’t born under either division. I possess some qualities of the healers and some of the warriors. Wizards of my type are rare, but not unheard of.”

“How many are like you?”

“Not many.”

“Special, aye?”

“In oh-so many ways, Your Highness.”    

Yixing barely manages not to roll his eyes, tugging extra hard on bandage knot. Kai winces but his eyes don't lose their brightness.  

When he’s done, Kai grabs the cloth out of his hand, reaching for Yixing’s face with a bandaged hand before the other can make any move to get up.

“My turn to ask questions, Your Highness?”

“Yixing’s fine, since we’re apparently cordial now.”

Kai brings the clean side of the cloth underneath Yixing’s chin.

“How can you truly believe your father is a good man?”

“Because I know him.”  

“Even though he banished and scattered an entire population for nothing?”

Words fail Yixing for a moment, like they always do at this part.

“He did it for my mother.”

Kai pauses in his task, surprised eyes studying Yixing. And, for maybe the first time, the prince holds his gaze.

“She was killed by a healing spell gone wrong, minor cough that became a fever.”

Kai lifts his other hand, fingers coming to rest along Yixing’s cheekbone.

“One accident cannot excuse what he did, I know. My father is a flawed man, but he is a good man, a good father. Or he used to be.”

Kai lowers the cloth but doesn’t remove the fingers brushing against Yixing’s skin.

“Jongin.”

“Hmm?”

“My given name is Jongin. A name for a name.” The wizard’s fingers are hot against Yixing’s skin, just like the eyes roving over his face. “You saved my life, you know.”

For a moment, Yixing doesn’t trust himself to speak.

“A life for a life.”

 

#

 

The second day is calmer.

Yixing insists on re-bandaging Jongin’s hands before they set out, hovering over him as the other attempts to dodge him, all playful and feigned ignorance as he focuses on dolling out fresh peaches for breakfast.

“Jongin,” he admonishes, tugging at the wizard’s wrist, pulling the bow and satchel off his shoulder to look for more cloth.

“ _Yixing_ ,” the wizard quips with a small smile, tossing him a peach.

Baekhyun, who woke up completely recovered from his nervous fit the night before and immediately dug into his peach like a ravenous animal, perks up, nearly dislodging a sleepy Chanyeol off his shoulder.

“ _Jongin?_ _Yixing?_ Oooh, Jongin and Yixing. Jooongin and Yiiixing.”

Yifan snickers, nudging Sehun, and Yixing stands, affronted, glaring at the whole lot of them. 

Suffice it to say, Jongin gets fresh bandages, and Yifan and Sehun focus on their meal.

And the smell of peach lingers on the wood of his arrow for the rest of the day, but the shot is well worth Baekhyun’s disgruntled expression and Jongin’s laugher as he watches his familiar struggle to pry the arrow and his splattered breakfast from the trunk of the tree behind him.

 

#

 

Their run-in with the bandits leaves Yixing with a bruised shoulder for the rest of their journey, and he winces, shifting the weight of his satchel as he walks, trying to find a comfortable position.

He doesn’t notice Jongin slow his walking until he’s plucking the satchel from his hand.

“You don’t-…”

“Still am.”

Yixing ducks his head as Jongin matches pace to walk beside him, tucking his empty hand into his pocket and ignoring the heat on his skin from where their fingers brushed.

On the eve of the fourth day, they reach Exdoro, and Yixing can’t tell as he glances up at the fortified walls and guarded watchtowers if what he feels is relief or foreboding.

 

#

 

Jongdae.

That is the name of the young wizard waiting to greet them.

As they approach, his face breaks out into a grin, lips curling pleasantly at the corners.

Beside him, Jongin answers with a grin of his own, stepping ahead of the rest of them to envelop the wizard in a hug.

“Dae!”

“Jonginie! Causing trouble as always, little brother.”

Yixing pauses, startled, staring at Jongdae with a newfound curiosity as he greets everyone in their party, Baekhyun so eager to return his hug, he nearly topples them over.

The wizard leads them through the city gate, Jongin tucked at his side, and Yixing falls in step with Sehun, eyes on the brothers ahead of them.

“Jongdae is Jongin’s older brother?”

“By two years.”

“Does that mean their parents live here also?”

Sehun glances in his direction but his ever-stoic face betrays nothing.

“Their parents have passed on. Their father a few years ago from a bought of fever, their mother during the expulsion.”  

Yixing stops in his tracks, dread piercing his chest like an arrow.

The wizard expulsion— he’d heard from several of the older royal soldiers that more than one of the evacuations had turned violent, many wizards refusing to leave their homes. Rumors still circulated that some had managed to escape expulsion and remained behind the walls, spies and rebel leaders.

He wants to ask more, but before he can, his attention is diverted by Jongdae who frees himself from Jongin to turn to Yifan and him, pointing out various parts of the city as they pass through it.

Exdoro is vast, larger than Yixing anticipated, the architecture getting older as they get closer to the center. The streets are bustling with people. They pass by a busy market, vendors selling potions, cauldrons, spell books.

Various parts of the city are enchanted: Yixing sees lamps floating in mid-air, laundry hanging itself out to dry on lines between homes, carts pulling themselves through city squares. Yixing can’t turn his head fast enough to see all there is to see, fascinated and excited, and he catches Jongin watching him with mild amusement.

“I am a teacher at the healers’ university,” Jongdae tells them. “That is where you will be staying.”

They arrive half an hour later at an impressive building deep within Exdoro's center, and Jongdae shows them to their rooms before inviting them to dinner and a student gathering.

“To celebrate the end of term. And tomorrow you shall meet Minseok,” Jongade tells Yixing and Yifan. “He’s the chief healer here. He has heard of your undertaking and would like to meet you before you travel on.”

 

#

 

The back garden, where the young healers gather, glows bright with enchanted lights, strung everywhere, and complemented beautifully by the night stars.

The happy sounds of the festivities calm Yixing, and he has to laugh at the sight of Yifan attempting to fall in line with the rows of dancers, tugged out of his seat by Baekhyun. Of course, the young general has made friends with several of the guests already; Yixing doubts there is anywhere Yifan would not be able to fit right in.

When he glances across the way, Yixing spots Jongin and Chanyeol sitting together. He catches Jongin's eye, knots weaving themselves together and tight in Yixing’s stomach, and they don’t break the gaze until Yixing’s attention is called away by someone approaching him.

He’s pulled to dance himself a moment later by a young witch who introduces herself as Yura, leading him expertly through a series of steps and laughing at as he trips over his own two feet to follow.

When he finally gets back to his seat, Jongin’s missing from his, and a quick scan of the floor tells Yixing the wizard isn’t dancing.

He goes looking, walking beyond the garden gate, and into the house. He finally finds him on the balcony. The sounds of the festivities just a pleasant hum up here.

“Didn’t feel like dancing?”

“Didn’t have the partner I wanted.”

Yixing’s chest aches, and he comes to lean beside Jongin on the railing, watching the party as Jongin watches him.

“Why didn’t you ask them then? Too afraid?” Yixing teases, gathering the courage to return Jongin’s gaze.

“Yes.”

The answer throws Yixing, but he plays into it. “Of what?”

Jongin shakes his head.

"I didn't think it was possible to come to care for someone so much in such a short period of time, to feel so bound to them. Especially with one so different from me. It's so ridiculous, so foolhardy," He glances up, meeting Yixing's haze and sending his heart hammering, "So hard to stop."

"Isn't it, Your Highness?"

Yixing doesn't answer.

He waits such a long time, he can sees doubt and apprehension cloud those beautiful eyes, but still he doesn't speak.

Instead he just reaches out.

Grabs Jongin’s wrist in tugs his hand closer, palm up, before pressing his lips to the soft skin.

Jongin’s eyes flutter, and the second kiss, placed over one of the unhealed scars, makes him gasp. 

Jongin’s other hand somehow makes it into Yixing’s hair, tugging lightly at the strands. To push him away or pull him forward and closer, he's not sure.

Yixing doesn’t let up, placing another kiss, open-mouthed, in the very center of Jongin’s palm, spurred by the other man's ragged breathing. 

One more kiss and he gets his answer, Jongin cursing under his breath and pulling him impossibly close.

 

#

 

They do not make it back inside.

Jongin corners Yixing against the wall. They share air, breathing harsh in the quiet, as Jongin tentatively presses forward, dull pleasure spiking in Yixing’s gut at the movement. On the next press he pushes back, and Jongin moans, hands coming up to bracket Yixing’s hips, guiding him into a rhythm.  

The sea of stars Yixing glimpses above them blur with the ones exploding behind his eyelids every time his eyes slip shut, powerless against each wave of pleasure, each press of Jongin’s hips.

They fumble against each other, groping in the dark, and Yixing finally gathers the courage to tilt his head, seeking Jongin’s lips. The movement seems to startle him out of the hot haziness built up around them, and he pulls back, hands moving from Yixing’s hips to rest against the wall.

“No, I-…” Jongin sounds like a man come up from drowning, trying to pull himself together, and Yixing fights to catch his own breath. “Not now, not like this…”

He reaches up, allowing himself to cup Jongin’s cheek in his hand, urging the wizard to meet his gaze. _It’s okay._

“Later,” Jongin eyes plead with his, seeking understanding, “when this is all…”

Yixing nods, catching Jongin’s wrist and interweaving their fingers, squeezing gently.

“Later.”

 

#

 

Minseok has to be one of the prettiest men Yixing has ever seen.

That useless thought is the first he has when Jongdae ushers Jongin, Yifan, and himself into the chief healer’s workshop the following afternoon after a morning spent packing.

Minseok is short in stature but strongly built, moving with a natural grace around his workroom, around neat rows of cauldrons and bookshelves as he finishes brewing a potion.

“How much do you know about these men? The ones hunting the dragons?”

"Their camp is set up somewhere along the Be-Sang fault," Yifan answers. "And we believe them to be at least a hundred men strong." 

“Warriors most likely,” Jongin adds. “Can't imagine they'd be healers, most of them."

"I’d guess neither," Minseok pauses in his work to frown down at the wounds on Jongin’s hands. 

"What do you mean?"

"It's unlikely these men come from either division, warriors or healers."

"I don't understand,” Jongin glances between Minseok and Jongdae in confusion. “There are only two divisions. They can't be anything else."

"No? And what division do you belong to, Jongin?"

"I-...I-...”

“It is true that the Order of the Healers and the Order of the Warriors are the only magical divisions surviving today in large numbers. But before the last century's Great War, there were hundreds.”

"What are you saying? I belong to another division? No, I was born on the cusp of the two, just like my mother."

"You were born into what was the Order of the Dragons, just like your mother."

The clear mixture Minseok is focusing on turns a dark shade of red, and he seals the vial.

“The Order of the Dragons was one of the oldest divisions of our people,” The healer pulls his gloves off, walking over to place his palms over Jongin’s. “They served as our connection to the dragon realm, when it was open, and drew their power from dragons. No one knows how deep the connection went, some say they even shared the same origin and blood.”

Their hands glow blue for a moment, Minseok’s healing magic flowing. Jongin stares at his palms, studying the skin there.

“And they were the first to be targeted by humans in the Great War, even though it was they who taught humans how to bond with dragons. Humans too easily fear what they cannot understand, the Order's connection to the dragons stupefied them.

"Father and I wanted to be honest with you,” He adds, looking directly at Jongin. "But we were afraid. During the expulsion, your Order was targeted. That is why...our mother...”

He trails off, coming to stand beside his brother. “And then with the emergence of this cult...Likely they are from the Order. Only they would have the power to create the arrows.”

"Surely you must have felt it,” Minseok, “must have wondered why you were the only one who could break the arrow's spell?”

Jongin doesn’t speak, fingers pressed to his palms.

Yifan breaks the silence.

“Why on earth would they hurt dragons if they are so connected?”

Minseok glances toward Jongdae, a look passing between wizard and familiar.

“They are attempting to fulfill an old prophecy. They want to summon him.”

 

#

 

“Summon who?”

Minseok walks over to one of the shelves, pulling out an old volume, flipping it open to the image of a massive golden dragon, fierce and terrible.

“The spirit of the most powerful dragon in the kingdom. The creature who sealed up the dragon realm and destroyed half of the kingdom in the Great War. Many years ago it was predicted that he would return. That he would once again descend on a warring kingdom.”

Jongdae wraps his arm around Jongin as they all peer at the creature on the page.

“This group is killing dragons to provoke his anger, to give themselves strength in order to kill him. Whoever can kill him is promised great power; it is said he is too wild to tame. They want to use his magic to take back the kingdom for themselves.”

“How can they be sure he will return? Who predicted his coming?” Yixing asks, glancing up at Minseok from the book.

“One of the more powerful members of the Order of the Dragon," Minseok answers, peering closer at him. "A witch who later became your mother, I believe.”

 

 #

 

The silence following the declaration is deafening.

“No, you must be mistaken,” Yixing shakes his head, sure he heard wrong. “That cannot be true."

“It cannot be. It’s in a familiar’s nature to bond to a magician and vice versa,” Jongin looks as shocked as he feels. “If Yixing is a familiar, he couldn’t have gone this long without a wizard in his life.”

“He hasn’t.”

Minseok’s eyes travel across the room, and all heads turn to follow.

_“Yifan?”_

The general doesn’t answer for a long moment, but when he turns his eyes to Yixing, the prince knows it can’t be anything but the truth.

When Yifan finally speaks, his voice is low, pleading, “Yixing, I am so sorry-…”

But Yixing doesn’t wait for him to finish, confusion and sudden indignation boiling up and over. He turns on his heel, rushing from the room, and doesn’t stop until he’s on the balcony, feelings so opposite to what they were in this very spot last night.

It doesn’t take long for Yifan to follow him.

“You’ve been hiding your magic from me? You knew about me? _About us?_ ” Words fly out of his mouth almost as soon as the general steps out across the threshold.

“I always suspected, but it wasn’t until Jongin and the rest came to the castle that I knew it to be true.”

“So your family is magic? And yet you remained inside the walls, illegally – _in the royal army no less?_   What was this, some kind of conspiracy? Were you spying on us? Getting close just waiting for the right time?”

“No, of course not. We meant no harm. Magicians are not that kind, you know that. By now, you know that better than anyone.”

Yifan’s eyes search his, desperate, and Yixing knows. _He does know_.

His own question that was thrown back at him what feels like centuries ago — he finally knows the answer.

Yifan is right, but the sting of being lied to won’t go away. And neither will the confusion at discovering his true nature, and those feelings make him want to hold on to his anger.

He loses track of what leaves his mouth somewhere there, just knows that the words keep coming. “No wonder you’ve always been so sympathetic to the magician’s cause. My, my, your father must have trained you well, best warriors of them all. I suppose that’s all our friendship’s ever been, general?”

“How can you think that?” Now Yifan sounds hurt, and Yixing has to steel himself, pull more anger in.

“ _How can you even say it?_ My family stayed behind because it was right. My father did his best to hide our magic for years in the hope that history would undo itself, that the King would come to be persuaded, become willing to listen, and that our kingdom would be reunited, peacefully.”

“So my mother’s death? The evacuations? How could my father have kicked out her people if he knew of her magic? Was it all based on a lie?”

“No, not a lie. Your mother did die of a spell gone wrong, her own spell. His Majesty had always been weary of magic, even though he loved the Queen very much, and her death steeled his opinion that magic was a dangerous thing.”

Yixing’s thoughts race to grab at this narrative, tumbling over each other in his head. 

“Yixing, you have been my friend all of my life, human or familiar. This changes nothing for me. Does it for you?” 

“I don’t know,” he answers, even though deep down he actually does.

The flood of words inside of his seems to have run dry.

“I-…just, I need time.”

A long pause, Yifan's eyes studying his face.

“Fair enough.”

 

#

 

Jongin appears not long after Yifan leaves.

He comes up behind Yixing, placing a tentative hand on the prince’s hip, and Yixing welcomes the touch, leaning back until Jongin melts, wrapping both arms around his waist.

_This has changed nothing, not with Yifan, not with him._

“Are you alright?”

“I don’t know, but I believe I will be. Are you?”

“I don’t know, but I believe I will be.”

Yixing chuckles softly, tilting his head to catch Jongin’s eye.

“What a perfect pair we are turning out to be.”

He makes to move, head back to Minseok and the others, but Jongin catches his hand, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

He flips the hand in his, glancing down at Jongin’s palm, completely scar-free, and then back up to offer the wizard a crooked smile.

“Is it terrible I am almost sorry to see them gone?”

The blush that blooms on Jongin’s cheeks, giving Yixing the warmth he is desperate for in the moment, is answer enough.

 

#

 

Yixing’s mother’s prediction comes true.

Shortly after nightfall, the rebel remnants of the Order of the Dragon come looking for them. The spilt dragon blood’s made them strong, and the lot of them, a hundred at least, enter the city without warning.

 Jongdae finds Yixing in the chambers, preparing for a journey he won’t be taking.

“They are here to create more chaos, more incentive for the spirit to appear. If they are looking to kill more dragons, royal ones, they will come for you and for Jongin since he is one of their kind. They will use you both to get to heart of the kingdom. There isn’t much time, you must-…”

Sudden screams from the university’s garden drown out Jongdae’s words and with them, any thoughts of escape.

 

#

 

 Out in the courtyard, it’s chaos as healers and groups of warriors clash with the intruders.

 Yixing can’t load and reload arrows fast enough as he moves through the tussle.

He’s looking for Jongin, he’s not sure exactly why. But he knows he has to find Jongin.

He’s scanning the crowd so he doesn’t see it, the edge of a knife too close. Before he can react, Yifan’s tall form is stepping in front of him, and he can practically hear the blade tear flesh.

When Yifan turns to Yixing, the right side of his face is bleeding, and it fills him with so much rage he sees red, cutting down the wizard wielding the knife with his bare hands.

Yifan barely pulls him away from the other man, shaking him by the shoulders.

“You have to get away from here, both of you.”

Again no clarification, no reason to tell Yixing who he means.  

“I’m not leaving you all here.”

“We’ll be fine. I’m fine, go. Yixing, go!” Yifan seizes him by the shoulders again to push him away, and Yixing hesitates for a moment longer before heading.

He makes it out past what’s left of the garden gate before he spots a familiar figure fending off swipes of a sword with spurts of yellow light. It pushes him to move faster, and he collides heavily, painfully, with someone, feels metal pierce his shoulder, skin breaking.

He manages to dislodge the assailant, still focused on Jongin, and then it happens. The flash of a sword, a pained cry he can hear all the way over, and Jongin is down. He takes the other wizard with him, both of them falling haphazardly.

“Jongin!”

Yixing raises the hilt of his bow, cutting down a man who materializes in front of him, and he's at the wizard's side in seconds, heart hammering in his chest.

He glances down, horrified to see a deep gash bleeding profusely, carved into Jongin's left side. So large, so deep — fatal.

Jongin hasn't moved from where he fell, face ashen, and Yixing reaches for him. When their eyes meet, Yixing draws away, almost knocked backwards.

Jongin's eyes are molten gold, pupils gone, replaced by light.

_No, it isn't possible, it can't be..._

The golden dragon, hidden in plain sight.

“What are you waiting for your highness, aren't you going to kill me?”

 

#

 

The words send a cold shiver through him and he falls to his knees, tears clouding his vision.

The chaos around them only seems to intensify, and Yixing knows they only have seconds — seconds to set their world right again. 

“No,” he voice comes out barely a whisper as he takes Jongin’s chin in his hand, bringing those magical eyes up to his. “I am going to tame you."

He runs a thumb along Jongin's cheekbone, feels the addictive warmth of his skin.

"Will you do the same for me?"

Jongin nods, fervently, tears streaming out of his eyes, two shining amber stones.

“I love you.”

Yixing closes the distance, anticipating, knowing that this will all be over soon. He whispers the words between them.

 “I love you too.”

 

#

 

For a moment, there is only light and Jongin’s lips.

 Everything around them fades, like they are in their own world, enveloped by the dragon’s magic and energy.

When they pull apart, Jongin’s eyes are even brighter, any trace of white and brown gone, replaced by pure gold. He’s radiating gold light, pulses of energy seeming to materialize around him.

When he speaks, he no longer sounds like Jongin. “Everything will be alright, Yixing. I promise.”

That’s the last thing Yixing hears. Jongin’s form swimming hazily in front of him before his vision grows dark, and everything slips away.

 

#

 

He wakes to gentle fingers brushing through the locks of his hair, tugging gently at random strands.

He realizes he’s lying with his head in Jongin’s lap, in the middle of the garden turned battlefield.

The sounds of battle are gone though, replaced by hushed murmurs, soft words.

When he registers his surroundings, Yixing immediately looks for Jongin’s eyes, and finds them staring back at him with concern, back to his favorite shade of brown.

He strains to lift his head, a sharp pain spiking all the way down his body at the movement, and Jongin shushes him, easing him back into his lap.

“A moment more.”

“What happened?”

“They’re gone. I-” Jogin hesitates, like he isn’t quite sure himself. “The dragon got rid of them, every last one.”

“What was it like? Him being a part of you?”

“Like I was connected to every dragon in the kingdom, and all those that came before. Somehow I could feel them, their magic. It was amazing.”

“I'll take your word for it. Is everyone else alright?”

“Everyone else is fine. Rest now.”

Jongin presses his lips to Yixing's forehead.

“Everything will be alright, Yixing. I promise.”

 

#

 

When he wakes for the second time, Jongin helps him walk over to a tent, where Minseok and several other healers are administering treatments. Yifan finds him there shortly after.

Yixing whistles low at the deep scar running along his cheek.

“That _had_ to hurt.”

"Now you know I'm not a healer," Yifan says with a shrug. Then, more shyly, "Yixing-...Your Highness, how are you?"

"I didn't take a knife to the face for an idiot, so I'm okay." Yixing offers Yifan a sheepish grin.

The silence between them stretches long before they both speak at once.

"Listen, Yifan-..."

"Your Highness, I-..."

Yixing frowns, determined to speak. "Cut it out — you know I hate it when you call me that."

It's Yifan's turn to grin.

"Why do you think I'm doing it?"

Yixing mock huffs, landing a weak punch to Yifan's shoulder.

They both chuckle, and Yixing waits till they sober before he speaks.

“When we get back to the castle, there will be much to do. There is so much work to be done to stitch our kingdom back together after years of separation, and I need you by my side to do it, Yifan. You are my dearest friend. Will you help me?”

Yifan grins, enveloping him in a tight hug before he's even finished speaking.

“I would be honored, Yixing-ah.”

 

#

 

It’s back at the castle, after their return, after Yixing’s meeting with his father, and after the subsequent official declaration of the end of the wizard ban, that Yixing has enough time to be with Jongin. To ponder ways to make sure he always has time to be with him from now on.   

“What are you now?” He quips as they share a bench in his favorite part of the garden. The now-familiar, sweet ache growing in his chest when Jongin turns eyes full of mischief toward him. “Wizard? Friend? Golden Dragon-incarnate?”

“What do you want me to be, Your Highness?”

Yixing pauses as though to think but then realizes he already knows the answer, has known it since long ago. 

He reaches out, again, and this time Jongin meets him in the middle.

“Mine.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably the most plot-driven story I've written and it's a mess, but comments are always appreciated! 
> 
> (Title taken from the phrase 'the eyes are a window to the soul' since I lost track of how many times I wrote the word 'eyes' in this fic...)


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